Page 76 of Forbidden Obsession

I pulled the covers from my head and folded my legs underneath me. There was another voice in the background that sounded like…a countdown?

The closer the voice got to one, the more Uncle Benjamin prayed. My heart slammed in my chest when the gun went off.

“Oh, my God!” I covered my mouth as every nerve in my body jumped, and for a few seconds, all was still and quiet, and then the recording cut off.

I fisted the phone in my hand when thunder rippled through the heavens, and lightning struck in front of my window, illuminating the room.

“Aaaaaah!” I screamed as a shadow appeared in my doorway, my pulse now slamming recklessly.

Dominic entered the room stealthily, and I breathed a sigh of relief and cried simultaneously. He scooped me into his arms and rocked me while holding me tight.

“You never have to worry about him or the storms, ever.”

I snapped my head back, and more tears fell down my face. “It was you?”

He stared at me.

“Counting?”

He didn’t respond, and I covered my mouth, unable to wrap my head around how I felt about this revelation.

“I…”

“You told me not to get him in trouble. And I told you I couldn’t do that. If you want me to apologize, I can’t do that either. I don’t regret it, and I’d do it again if it were possible.”

I stared at him, wide-eyed. I thought of my parents, and a knot formed in my throat, but then, something else filled me—relief. As much as I wanted to hurt for my parents who’d lost a brother, I couldn’t.

“I have to go,” he said.

“What? Why?”

His gaze combed over me, caressing me everywhere, connecting and commanding me without saying a word.

He reached for my chin, pinched me there, then slipped his hand at the nape of my neck and drew me in for a hot, hungry, stimulating kiss.

Our hearts banged between our chests, and I was further aroused, but he drew back and unraveled us and stood up.

“Maybe in another life,” he said.

“Dominic?”

He left as quickly as he came, and once I’d come out of my shock and went after him, he was gone.

Over the next few days, Dominic had been absent from campus. I was worried about him; his disappearance kept me awake at night and distracted during the day.

The weather seemed increasingly cold, as if winter knew no bounds and would remain long after the season had ended.

I strolled solemnly across campus and paused before crossing to avoid getting run over like I did the day I met Dominic. That memory was all it took to put me back in a trance, but I blinked out of it when a Lincoln Continental drove in front of me and stopped.

My heart raced as I hoped Dominic had changed his mind and left the shadows.

The window rolled down, and my eyes widened to see my grandfather, Riccardo Niccolò, the don of the Niccolò Cartel, in front of me.

I spoke in Italian as that was the only language he cared to speak.

“What happened?”

“Granddaughter, it is time for me to pull you out.”

The back door unlocked. “Get in.”

To be continued…

---